Dancin Caroll and Sports Chic, who are both half-sister to famous performers, are making themselves known as well after winning the pair of $105,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series contests for two-year-old pacing fillies on Monday night at Mohawk Racetrack. Both races were conducted over a racetrack rated good and two seconds off due to rainy conditions.
In the first division it was Wrangler Magic (Sylvain Filion) in the lead at the :27.4 opening quarter. She would yield the top spot to a parked-out I Wonder Why (Steve Condren) past that marker, and then I Wonder Why gave up command to public choice Win The Gold (James MacDonald) before the :56.3 half. Win The Gold would go to hit three-quarters in 1:26.1, but she was under a first-over attack from Southwind Mischief (Chris Christoforou), who towed Dancin Caroll (Randy Waples) into contention from second-over.
In the stretch Southwind Mischief forged her way by Win The Gold, but a host of fillies, including Dancin Caroll began to close in inside the final sixteenth. Dancin Caroll proved best though, as she reached the finish line half a length in front of a re-emerging Wrangler Magic. Akissfromtheart (Jody Jamieson) rushed from seventh to third in the final quarter. The final time of the mile was 1:55.2.
Tony Alagna trains Dancin Caroll, a daughter of Sportswriter, for owners Paymaq Racing of Long Grove, Illinois, Greg Gillis of Alliston, Ontario, and George Golemes of Oak Brook, Illinois. This was her second win from eight starts, and she has now earned $75,900. Dancin Caroll was bred by Elizabeth Wagner and was sold for $90,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. She is the third foal out of the Cambest mare Dancewiththebest, which makes her a half-sister to world champion Dancin Yankee ($1,060,422).
The second OSS Gold test saw Solar Sister (Doug McNair) work her way from post nine to first at the :26.2 opening quarter. She let longshot Palette Tina (Randy Waples) go to the top prior to the :55.3 half, but then McNair had his charge back out of the pocket on the far turn, and she regained the advantage well before the 1:25.2 three-quarters. Business As Usual (Christoforou) tried to challenge the pace-setter from first-over at that time with Northern Starlet (Sylvain Filion) positioned second-over and Sports Chic (Jody Jamieson) third-over.
Jamieson fanned Sports Chic out wide for the stretch drive, and she caught Solar Sister at the eighth pole. Sports Chic powered her way past the leader for good past that marker, and she would go on to defeat a closing Little Miss Sporty (Jonathan Drury) by a length and three-quarters in 1:54.4. Cowgirl Tough (Jack Moiseyev), owned in part by 7th grade student Emma Christoforou, came in third.
Trainer Blake MacIntosh of Waterdown, Ontario, also co-owns Sports Chic, a daughter of Sportswriter, with partner Hutt Racing Stable of Paoli, Pennsylvania.
Sports Chic, who has five wins from eight trips behind the gate overall, is a perfect four-for-four in Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series competition and leads the point standings for her group. Sports Chic, now an earner of $221,389, was also second against Grand Circuit company in a Champlain Stakes division at Mohawk.
Sports Chic, a Winbak Farm-bred filly who fetched $35,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, is the 15th foal out of the On The Road Again mare Vesta Blue Chip, which means Sports Chic is a half-sister to the great Rainbow Blue ($1,600,012), the 2004 Canadian Horse of the Year.
The two-year-old pacing fillies of the OSS Gold Series have one remaining event in their regular season, and it will occur on September 29 at Mohawk Racetrack.
On the undercard, Daylon Magician rolled to a second consecutive victory in the $34,000 Preferred Trot for trainer/driver Jack Moiseyev. The six-year-old son of Kadabra-Daylon Marvel got away third before brushing to the front in the backstretch. He led the group through middle splits of :56.2 and 1:24.1 before trotting home in a :30-second clip to win by three-quarters of a length over longshot Dancehall Mistress and Windsong Geant.
Sent off as the 8-5 favourite, the homebred improved his 2014 record to 6-2-3 from 19 starts with the win. The 24-time winner, who is owned by Daylon Farms Ltd of Komoka, Ontario, pushed his lifetime earnings to $1,718,797 with the win.
(With files from OSS)
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.